Walgreens To Pay $80 Million For Oxycodone Violations

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, will pay $80 million in fines to end a DEA probe into allegations it allowed millions of controlled substances, including the highly addictive painkiller oxycodone, to reach the black market.

The settlement is the largest civil penalty paid under the Controlled Substances Act in Drug Enforcement Administration history, U.S. Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer said Tuesday.

In September, the DEA accused Walgreens of endangering public safety and barred the company from shipping oxycodone and other controlled drugs from its Jupiter, Fla., distribution center. The distribution center was the largest supplier of oxycodone to retail pharmacies in Florida, the DEA said.